KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth has described the government's decision to remove nicotine liquids and gels from the Poisons Act 1952 before tobacco and smoking products laws have been passed as not necessary nor wise.
Its chief, Dr Akmal Saleh, said such a move seemed to have provided the licence to people, irrespective of their age, to use such products without proper guidelines and regulations in place.
The Jasin assemblyman and former Melaka state executive councillor in charge of the health portfolio also called on the government to review or retract its decision until the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill, termed the generational endgame (GEG), has been passed in Parliament.
"With the absence of clear guidelines, Umno Youth fears that people, especially the younger generation, would be exposed to using nicotine products without proper control.
"This will subsequently lead to a long-term and detrimental impact on the health of the people.
"Rationally, the government should first enforce the GEG law before removing tobacco liquids and gels from the Poisons Act," he said in a statement.
Dr Akmal added that the health implications following the removal of nicotine liquids and gels from the Poisons Act before a law to control the sale of tobacco and smoking products outweighed the revenue generated from tax imposed on products containing nicotine.
"We understand that the government previously was unable to collect tax from the sales of vape liquids since it contained nicotine, which is listed in the Poisons Act.
"However, the long-term health implications for people outweighs the potential revenue to be collected from the sale of vape liquids.
"Therefore, we hope the Health Ministry will seriously consider the suggestion made by Umno Youth over the matter," he said.
Dr Akmal added that Umno Youth would be submitting a letter protesting the exemption of nicotine liquids and gels from poisons controls to Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon.
It was reported that Dr Zaliha had allegedly used her ministerial powers to approve an amendment to the Poisons Act to allow for the legalisation of nicotine-laced products – overruling the Poisons Board's earlier decision.
The Poisons Board, which had a meeting on Wednesday, was believed to have voted against the exemption of nicotine liquids and gels from the list of poisons.